Hawfinch In The Garden

Well, putting out the bird food in the garden worked. Best of all at the weekend was a Hawfinch that dominated the bird-table. The Chaffinches and Great Tits did not land on the table when this big, fat finch was there. The black sunflower seeds did the trick. Actually, Hawfinches are common in Hungary, and indeed most of C & E Europe, so it is not such a rare sighting, it is just that they do not often get into our garden.

Birds In The Garden

Here is Budapest it still does not really seem like winter, a bit grey and damp and plenty of folks with "flu" but there is no sign of any snow or ice or even real cold. The birds know something though. Waxwings have been seen and there are more species coming into the garden now. The first seed I put out went in a day. Two Great Spotted Woodpeckers were foraging in the now bare walnut tree, sometimes picking at the ends of small twigs but I can't see what they are after there. I am going to put out some more fat and bird-cake for them and black sunflower for the songbirds today and see what comes in over the weekend.

Planning Your Holidays!

So, it is that time again, the winter months when many of us birders sit down and decide where we are off to next year. Here are some ideas for you: South Moravia (Czech Republic) in February for Geese, Raptors, Wallcreeper & the Valtice Wine Festival! Estonia in March for Owls, Grouse, Woodpeckers & Steller's Eiders! Serbia in May, an exciting new destination for Breeding Balkan Birds! Romania in August, the classic tour in the Danube Delta and along the Black Sea Coast! All kinds of birding delights in this selection and I will be guiding these trips myself. Just get in touch if any appeal to you and I will gladly send more details.

Owl Food

One of the reasons so many Long-eared Owls, and for that matter Common Buzzards, winter in northern Serbia is that there is LOTS of food. For example, the Steppe Mouse Mus spicilegus is abundant. Fallow fields, harvested crop fields and grasslands are dotted with their storage mounds which can contain up to 10kg of grain and be around a metre in diameter. Here is a photo of one taken near Zrenjanin in the Banat region.

More Owls In The Mist

Here you go... more Long-eared Owls in the fog in Serbia. As I mentioned, we found dozens of roosts like this.

Owls In The Mist

Just back from Serbia. Another original and great trip with 8 nice folks from the UK. Only downside was a good deal of fog, but that did not stop us seeing about 1000 Long-eared Owls. We visited various parks, yards and cemeteries in villages in the Banat region with 722 seen on day 2 of our trip. The most owls in one place was 432.

Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud...

Here you go, the therapeutic mud of Lake Rusanda in Serbia. I know lots of places in Eastern Europe where the locals swear that their mud, usual around a thermal spring, is a cure for all kinds of aches, pains and diseases. You do not eat the stuff, of course, but rather dab it on or wallow in it. I will be at Rusanda soon and if I get a minute away from searching for owls, I will try it out (just a dab) and let you know how feel afterwards...